JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — An investigation into Missouri’s preceding Attorney General has been closed without a statement of probable cause being issued.
On Thursday, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft closed his investigation into now-U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley without finding “reasonable trustworthy” evidence the law of broken. Ashcroft provided copies of the report to the complainant as well as the governor, former and current attorneys general, and the state auditor.
“Based on the documents my office reviewed, and the interviews conducted, I cannot say that there is reasonable trustworthy information that an offense has been committed. As such, I decline to issue a statement of probable cause and this investigation is considered closed,” Ashcroft stated.
American Democracy Legal Fund had alleged that in his campaign for U.S. Senate, Hawley used public resources for campaign related activities. The Democrat group alleged that Hawley used outside political consultants to direct employees of the Attorney General’s Office to undertake tasks that would construct his public image and raise his profile, preparing him for his candidacy fo U.S. Senate.
On December 6, 2018, Ashcroft and his team started looking into the offense. They reached out to the state auditor for any information that would be relevant to the investigation. The Secretary of State’s Office also reached out to the two outside consultants.
Based on the findings of the report, Gail Gitcho and Timmy Teepell did consult and provide guidance for the Attorney General’s Office. Both were paid for their work by the Hawley for Missouri Committee and not the state.
The work the two consultants performed was at the behest of Hawley because he felt is was “the most effective way to execute his agenda,” according to the report. The findings also note that there was no discussion of a U.S. Senate bid during the meetings.
Read the investigative report below:
Loading...
Reload document 
Open in new tab 
Alisha Shurr was a reporter for The Missouri Times and The Missouri Times Magazine. She joined The Missouri Times in January 2018 after working as a copy editor for her hometown newspaper in Southern Oregon. Alisha is a graduate of Kansas State University.
